CLINTON ORDERS CUTBACKS TO PUSH NUCLEAR TREATY

William Neikirk, Tribune Staff WriterCHICAGO TRIBUNE

Decrying a "new isolationism" in American politics, President Clinton announced Wednesday night he is dramatically shrinking the U.S. nuclear stockpile as a good-faith effort to win a permanent extension of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

In a foreign policy address, the president unveiled the unilateral step as an olive branch to non-nuclear nations balking at extending the landmark accord when it comes up for renewal in April. These states say the U.S. and other nuclear powers are hypocritical and are seeking to cement a nuclear double-standard.

At the same forum, named in honor of the late President Richard M. Nixon, Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole of Kansas accused Clinton of conducting a misguided "Yeltsin first" policy in Russia, implying it led to the loss of life in the rebellious republic of Chechnya.

Clinton's attack on isolationism in the Republican Party and Dole's counterpunch at the president's Russian policy put foreign policy in the middle of a fierce political arena that has, until now, largely focused on domestic issues.

The president used the power of his office by ordering the removal of 200 tons of fissile material, enriched uranium and plutonium, from the stockpile used to make weapons. This would be enough to make thousands of nuclear weapons and represents a "significant reduction" in the stockpile, according to senior administration officials.

Noting that the expiring nonproliferation treaty marks its 25th anniversary this week, Clinton said "nothing is more important to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons than extending the treaty indefinitely and unconditionally."

The treaty must be reviewed by all 171 countries that have pledged to abide by its restrictions. The Clinton administration concedes it needs support from at least 17 more nations to make the treaty permanent.

Some countries point out that the U.S. and other nuclear powers still control huge stockpiles of nuclear material and weapons, and should do more to reduce them.

Others, such as Egypt, accuse the U.S. of a double-standard because it does not pressure its ally Israel to sign the treaty. Still others favor an extension of the treaty, but for a limited time.

While uranium can be used for nuclear power reactors, plutonium can't be destroyed and would have to be stored, administration officials conceded. But one senior administration official said, "When you take the material to make nuclear weapons out of the stockpile, it makes it impossible for it to be used again in weapons."

National Security Adviser Anthony Lake expressed hope that the president's initiative would help persuade other countries to go along with an indefinite extension of the treaty.

Officials said that the U.S. won't compromise over the permanent extension.

In his speech, Clinton cited the nonproliferation treaty as a major example of the need for U.S. engagement in the world.

"Arms control makes us both safer and stronger," he said. "It is one of the most effective insurance policies we can write for the future."

The president called 1995 a year "in which the United States will pursue the most ambitious agenda to dismantle and fight the spread of weapons of mass destruction since the atom was split."

Clinton said the "new isolationists, both on the left and right, would radically revise the fundamentals of our foreign policy that have earned bipartisan support since World War II."

He said they would eliminate any role for the United Nations and UN peacekeeping efforts, deny foreign aid to fledging democracies and trumpet the rhetoric of American strength while denying resources that would make America strong.

"We must not let the ripple of isolationism they have generated build into a tidal wave," he said.

Lake told reporters earlier that Clinton was referring chiefly to Republicans in the House and that isolationism could be contained in the Senate.

But Dole, expected to be a candidate for president in 1996, showed that an internationalist like himself could pose a major challenge to Clinton on foreign policy.

He said Russia's policies, from North Korea to Yugoslavia to Iran, are "often in conflict with American interests." Just as it was wrong for President George Bush to place too much faith in Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, it now is wrong for Clinton to put so much faith in Yeltsin, Dole said.

"The Clinton administration's misguided devotion to a `Russia First' policy-which has turned into a `Yeltsin First' policy-resulted in the loss of a tremendous opportunity to state American concerns forcefully before thousands were slaughtered in Chechnya," Dole said.

The Senate majority leader called upon Clinton to develop a more realistic, honest relationship with Russia.

In response, Lake said Clinton has spoken out against the war in Chechnya and denied the U.S. is pursuing a Russian first or Yeltsin first policy.

"Chechnya has started to drive a wedge between President Yeltsin and some of the reformers," Lake said. "In our view, it is important that we act in a way that makes it easier rather than harder for Yeltsin and the reformers to come together again. . . . "

Dole also warned against the U.S. falling into a false sense of security even if the nonproliferation treaty is extended indefinitely.